A New Crewmember
by kimberly2352
Summary: This is a story about a girl from our own time period named Kana. Through a series of unknown events, she ended up aboard the starship Enterprise under Captain Picard's command. She bonds quickly with Deanna Troi and Will Riker who help her adjust to life aboard the ship. Then when disaster strikes the ship, Kana is able to repay some the help and kindness she has been shown.
1. Authors Note

Authors Note:

Before reading this story, the reader needs to know some information and give into a little suspended belief. This story was written as a hobby for me and I would like to share it and get some feedback on it so I decided to post it on this site. The story does not take place at any particular time in the Star Trek TGN timeline and does not necessarily follow and sort of cannon data. I did my best to keep the character true to their nature but there may be some OCishness. So if you are a die hard, cannon-is-the-only-way-to-go kind of person then you might not like this story. But then again, this might be a chance to break out of the mold and think of these characters in a new way.

To understand this story, there is some background you need to know on one of the main characters: Kana. She is a person of my own creating and is from our time period. She died in a train wreck and through some unknown circumstances ended up in a cryogenic pod out in space. The idea for this came from one of the episodes of TGN but I added a twist. While in space, Kana's pod was picked up by an alien species, the Bulgaries (I made them up as well), and was a subject in some kind of experiment before being released back into space. Kana has no memory of the experiment and the only way anyone found out about it was from some experiment notes found in the cryo pod. Her DNA was mixed with other species that you will find out as you read the story. More about this background will be revealed as the plot develops.

I know this is a series of events that is not probable within the common rules of TGN but if you can get past that, this story is a good one and will be very entertaining. I will be posting a new chapter every week as I refine my rough draft. I have spent a lot of time on this and believe it is well worth the time to read if. I will appreciate any feedback you guys can give me, positive or negative!

Next: Chapter 1: A Conversation and A Visit to the Beach


	2. Chapter 1

Kana stood by the window of the observation lounge and reflected on the past two months of her life.

Two months ago she had woken up to find four people gazing down at her. She had screamed and raised her hands to shield herself. A strange wave of energy had condensed in her and the blasted out through her hands, nearly putting a hole in the wall. She had been quickly drugged and fell back to sleep. When she woke for the second time, it was a slower more hazy emergence from sleep. She had listened groggily as Dr. Crusher and Councilor Troi explained her situation. She remembered the train wreck that had resulted in her ending up in a hospital but nothing else. Apparently she had been cryogenically frozen and sent out into space. Something had happened out there to her body that left her barely human but the details were unclear.

She had spent the next week learning about the ship and the new century she had woken up in. She had also undergone lots of medical examinations in an effort by Dr. Crusher to understand what had been done to her body. She had found strands of foreign DNA in Kana's genetic makeup. It was still unclear exactly what the final results would be but one result was a new telekinetic ability that was getting harder and harder to control as it developed. Kana found herself occasionally reaching for an object only to find it flying at her and crashing against the bulkhead behind her. It was as frustrating as it was funny to those around her.

Thinking back on it now as Kana watched the stars fly by she chuckled to herself. she heard the door to the lounge open up behind her and turned to see who was there. When she saw that it was only Counselor Troi, Kana turned her gaze back to the stars and planets passing by the window. "Hey" she said by way of greeting.

Deanna Troi walked up behind her and stood just off to the right and a little behind Kana and spoke "This has to be your favorite spot on the ship. I am always finding you here." Deanna watched Kana closely.

"Oh really?" Kana replied neutrally.

"Yes" Deanna fell silent for a moment before continuing. "Your emotions are very strong right now but not very clear."

"Surely that's understandable considering the circumstances." Kana replied quietly.

"Yes, I suppose that is understandable. In fact, you are handling everything quite well, emotionally speaking." Deanna crossed her arms over her chest. Kana's calmness had been making Deanna nervous but she could not say why.

Kana was silent for a moment before responding. "It all still feels so unreal at times." Kana's voice was level and calm at first but then wavered. "I mean, come on, who can prepare themselves for dying then waking up three hundred years in the future? Not to mention the whole hey now your entirely human bit." Kana's voice held a tiny note of hysteria for a second as she held up a hand, her power glowing green around it for a second before fading again.

Deanna was still nervous about Kana using her telekinesis, though she knew that Kana needed to learn to control it. There had been a few unfortunate incidents right after Kana had awakened. They had not been serious but Deanna was wary. She decided to probe a little further anyway. "One thing that confuses me is that you do not seem to be overly concerned with those that you loved that died while you were asleep." Deanna asked the question tentatively, watching Kana's response closely.

Kana started to pace. "It's hard to be sad because in a way they are still alive, just back in their own time." Kana paused in her pacing "sometimes it feels like I am stuck in some kind of bad time travel movie." She sighed and admitted "I guess their loss won't really register till I really accept that I am in the 24th century." Kana turned towards Deanna. "You guys have been so great with all this. Your captain has been so nice and Jordie has been so kind to explain all this new technology to me. And you have been a good friend to me." Kana's gratitude was clear in her voice.

Deanna smiled at the praise. "Thanks, we have all enjoyed getting to know you." Deana shifted to lay a hand on Kana's shoulder. "Everything will be ok" she promised. "Any further changes in your empathic abilities?" Deanna was referring to Kana's budding potential for empathic abilities that were a result of some Betazoid gene's mixed in with Kana's DNA from the experiment. No one was sure if she would develop them but Deanna had kept her on the ship to keep an eye on it till all the changes in Kana's body settled out.

"Nope and part of me hopes things stay this way. It might be nice to know what others are feeling but for me it would be just another problem." Kana said this with finality.

"True" Deanna agreed with some chagrin.

Kana nodded and turned toward the door to the lounge. "All this talk is making me thirsty." A devilish glint came into Kana's eyes "I think tonight I will just settle for a temporary reprieve from all the stress." Kana smiled mischievously. "The captain has authorized me to use one of the holo decks tonight so I can spend some time alone so I plan on sealing myself in and spending the next twelve hours getting totally drunk on the beach." Kana gave Deanna a cheeky grin and waved as she walked out of the lounge. Deanna just chuckled as she watched Kana go.

Kana headed straight for the holo deck. With any luck it would be open early and she could get started early. For once, things went as planned and holo deck three was open and ready for her. She walked up to the door told the computer to run the program she had created earlier with Jordie's help and walked in.

It was a standard beach scene with lots of sun and clear blue water. There was a stand of trees by the door and a path through them to a small cottage. Kana had created the trees as a buffer between the entrance to the holo deck and the beach so she did not have to worry about privacy on the off chance that someone needed to come in to speak to her. Despite Captain Picard's assurance she would have the holo deck to herself she wanted to make sure no one could walk up on her unexpectedly. She walked down the path to the small bungalow she had set by the edge of the beach and changed out of her cloths and into a small bikini with a sheer white robe over it. Kana tossed the discarded cloths on the bed and walked out to the beach. She smiled as she tipped her head back and let the sun sink into her skin. The warm salty air felt great. A towel and umbrella were already set up. The umbrella was mostly decorative since the sun was actually quite pleasant but Kana like the way it looked. There was a small tiki bar a few yards from the bungalow with a stack of extra towels next to it.

Kana went over to the bar and ordered a drink. There was no one actually manning the bar since Kana wanted complete privacy so the drink she ordered simply appeared. She picked it up and walked with it to the edge of the sea. Looking out over the water she took her first sip. This was a small slice of paradise. Everything was just perfect and Kana decided that from this point on, until she left the holo deck in the morning, she would not think of time passing, alien experiments, or the inner power that she could barely control.

For the next two hours Kana layed on the beach, only going into the crystal clear water once to cool off. She had programmed it to be a little hot since she wanted a little bit of reality. She was buzzing from the alcohol and it was clear by now that she was as drunk as she was going to get from the synthohol that was all the replicator was capable of creating. Kana mentally kicked herself for not begging some real alcohol from Gienen at Ten Forward. She then shrugged and ordered up a little Jimmy Buffet. Feeling a little naughty and daring she decided to go for a nude swim.

Kana stepped out of her bathing suit, leaving it by her towel, and walked out into the waves. The water felt amazing. The waves lapped gently against her skin with smooth caresses as she swam out past the breakers. She swam up and down the shore line for a while before just simply laying back and floating with the tide. It felt so relaxing and absolutely fantastic. The music set the scene perfectly. She was at peace for the first time since waking up in this century. Kana released the tension melt out of her body and let the tide drag at her until she was limp.

Because her head was underwater when the warning beep sounded, she did not know that the door to the holo deck had been opened and someone had come in.

William T. Riker walked into the stand of trees and took a deep breath of the salty air. Holo deck air was not quite the same as real air but it was still delightful. He loved the beach. It reminded him of the planet Rissa and he visited the beach often on the holo deck, as he was doing now. So when he checked the records and saw that a beach program was running on one of the holo decks already he decided to check it out. He heard the splashing of the waves and walked towards the sound. He saw the bungalow and the tiki bar first. He smiled and was glad he had changed into his swimsuit. He looked out over the water. That's when he saw her.

Kana was on her back, with her body totally bare to the water. Riker was momentarily breathless. He had seen many beautiful women in his life time but the one out in the clear water still managed to stun him. Kana's skin glowed under the sunlight and glinted off of her sliver green tattoos that ran all over her body. Her breasts were naked and his eyes momentarily caught on them until he forced his eyes to her face. The Celtic swirls that curled up along her neck to frame her eyes were beautiful and the contrast with her tan skin with the sun to create the lighting made them seem almost magical. They highlighted the high cheek bones of her face and the exotic green color of her eyes. Her full red lips were parted slightly and the tips of her teeth were visible. Her strong chin was no longer jutted out in a look of defiance as it normally would around other people. Her features were relaxed into a contented smile for the first time since he had seen her in sick bay and the change did wonders. It turned her from a scared child into a stunning woman.

Will's body heated up and he recognized the signs of sexual attraction but he was not worried. He had seduced many women and while this one was very different, he had a feeling that for tonight, the rules were a little different for everyone. There was some kind of magic in the air and Will had seen enough in his life time not to question it to much. Life was often much shorter than one anticipated and sometimes you just had to go with the moment. This was one of those moment and Will dove into head first without a second thought.

Will noticed her discarded swim suit by the waters edge and picked it up, thinking she might want it if she noticed him. She currently was blissfully unaware of him but that would change soon and he did not want to start off badly so he carried them into the water with him. He approached her from behind and called a greeting.

Kana shot straight up out of the water when she heard Commander Rikers voice. Her first thought was "Omg, I am naked and he has seen me and all the odd tattoos", which was silly considering all the strang things Riker must have seen out in space. She saw the bathing suit in Rikers hands and decided that getting that on instead of running into the bungalow was the quicker way to get covered up. Kana crossed one of her arms and held out the other for a swim suit. Riker handed it to her and she got it on quickly but after her nudity, it hardly seemed to cover her at all so she headed for the tiki bar to get one of the extra towels. She wrapped up in them and settled on the other towel under the umbrella. Riker joined her after getting a towel of his own. There was some awkward silence before Ricker finally broke it.

"So how have you been settling in?" he asked casually.

"Fairy well considering the circumstances." Kana replied with as much calm as she could muster. "Its hard to get used to waking up three centuries in the future. Jordie has been helping me learn the technology and Deanna has been helping me learn the social side to this century."

"Have you made some new friends within the crew?" Will's voice held a trace of something Kana could not name.

"A few, mostly just within the senior staff." Kana said as she relaxed into the conversation.

They made small talk for a while. They discussed Kana's future and the different people aboard the Enterprise. Riker moved closer and closer to Kana. Kana noticed this but did not say anything. It was as if the very air was drugged with sex. A distant part of Kana's mind guessed that it was due to her budding empathic abilities that Kana felt this way. Then when Riker moved in for a kiss, she tilted her head to meet his lips with her own.

Deanna woke up from one of the most erotic dreams she had ever had. She could not remember the details but her face was flushed and her body on fire for no particular reason. She had felt this feeling a few times before but only with Will or when he was near by and with another woman. Deanna let her senses stretch out to locate her Imzadi. Ahh, so he was with another woman, though she could not tell exactly who from this distance and with her own emotions in such upheaval. She rolled over, know it was going to be a long night.


	3. Chapter 2

When the simulated sun rose again in the morning, it found Kana sleeping in the beach bungalow alone but dreaming of the kiss with Will Riker. She knew better than to think it meant anything more than a casual attraction between them. Had she not been so raw from her recent experiences things might have gone further between them. But last night had still been wonderful. There seemed to be nothing much to say after the kiss so they had lain there on the beach in companionable silence. Neither one of them seemed willing to let the moment go. There was a sense of this place being separate from time and consequence. But reality was like the tide, you can ignore it for a while but you cant stop it. Eventually Will had to go and Kana had gone for one last swim before crashing in the bungalow.

Kana left the holo deck she went to her quarters. She flopped down on her bed. What a night! Her body was still on fire and she felt loose and supple, aware of how every muscle moved. She wanted to lounge around all day and eat chocolate. She decided that a visit to Ten Forward to eat a Sunday and see more of the crew was in order. Kana changed into a tight fitted jump suit similar to the ones worn by Counselor Troi. It was green and had a low cut v shaped neckline. It brought out the exoticness of her tattoos. She had actually fashioned it based on the Counselor's uniform since she did not like the way the normal fleet uniforms felt around the neck, it made her feel like she was suffocating. Since she was not an official part of the crew she was not held to any specific dress code but she like to blend in as much as possible.

Kana was on her way to Ten Forward when Counselor Deanna Troi caught up with her. Deanna immediately noticed the difference in the way that Kana was moving today. Kana's whole body seems to sway and flow with every step, entirely different from the stiff way Kana had walked yesterday. If Deanna did not know any better she would have suspected that Kana had been with a man last night. Then Deanna remembered the way she had sensed Will had felt last night. It could not have been Kana who he was with, could it? Surely Will would not get involved with the girl while she was in such a fragile state of mind. But looking at Kana now, Deanna was not so sure that Kana was in such a fragile state anymore. Kana was harder to read than most humans and took more effort, but Deanna could sense the increase in strength, mentally and physically. So maybe Kana was much further along the adjusting process than Deanna had thought.

"So how was your night?" Deanna asked with only the barest hint of amusement in her voice.

Kana glanced at the Counselor. "It was very nice" she responded cautiously. She had not missed the glances between Will and the councilor.

"What no details?" Deanna teased.

"I laid out on the beach, drank some coconut rum, went for a swim. How many more details do you need?" Kana said with studied nonchalance.

"Oh just one more…..who were you with that put such a smile on your face?" Deanna's grin was wicked.

Kana jerked to a stop. "What do you mean?"

"Oh I think you know what I mean." Deanna drawled out, putting one hand on a hip.

Kana blustered for a minute before falling silent. The two of them walked for a moment in silence before Kana said finally "Last night I was with someone…..unusual. But it will not happen again so I would prefer it if we could avoid talking about it."

Deanna nodded. So it was Will. William T Riker was a ladies man, there was no doubt about that. But while he might inspire dreams of a long lasting commitment, he did not inspire much confidence in those dreams. To date, there had only been one exception and that was Deanna herself but even that one was layered in complications and ambiguities. Deanna and Will shared a special bond and both would die for the other without hesitation. There was also a strong sexual current flowing between them that was as undeniable as it was impossible to act on. So if it was Will that Kana had been with last night, Deanna knew how uncertain Kana must feel and understood her belief that it would not happen again. But then Deanna remembered just how strongly Will had felt last night. It had been enough to wake her up from a deep sleep. So clearly there was more going on than either would admit. But for now Deanna decided to leave it alone.

When they got to Ten Forward they selected a table and ordered two chocolate Sundays. Both of them had a strong addiction to chocolate and neither could turn down an excuse to eat some. Kana also ordered some warm milk while Deanna drank some hot chocolate. They chatted about nothing in particular, just a lot of small talk. Deanna tactfully tried to get Kana to talk about what had happened the night before but Kana managed to avoid giving out any new information. After a half hour of dancing around the subject Deanna gave up and settled for chit chat.

It was an hour later when they decided to call it quits and got up to leave. Deanna and Kana had just walked out of the entrance to Ten Forward when Kana suddenly stiffened then bent over and cried out. Deanna immediately reacted and caught her and called in a medical emergency. Deanna reached out with her senses to try to figure out what was going on and was shocked when she felt Kana's mind react back. It was almost like she was touching a Betazoid mind. Deanna instinctively pulled back to protect herself. There was such confusion and terror in Kana's mind. Deanna guessed immediately what must be going on. She has been afraid something like this was going to happen. Kana's mind had finally developed enough to access her Betazoid abilities. She was being overwhelmed by other people's emotions and since she was unprepared for the intrusion she had none of the barriers and skills that helped Deanna keep a grip on herself. Deanna knew she had to act fast. She took a deep breath, reached back out with her mind and went to work.


End file.
